Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Lifestyle
Andrea Park

12 Books That Are the Antidote to Toxic Girlboss Hustle Culture

Career memoirs by women books.

The 21st century introduced the rise of the girlboss: the (tastefully) badass woman who, in contrast to so many before her, can choose to prioritize her career over everything else, bursting through glass ceilings and clawing her way to executive roles, all without giving up her femininity. She’s a superwoman who “has it all,” juggling a high-powered career and a family, all while wearing a stylish power suit and painfully high heels. On paper, it may seem like a good idea, especially after women’s rights activists spent decades fighting for access first to the workplace and then, once they had a foot in the door, to the highest levels of the corporate structure. In reality, however, girlbossery leaves much to be desired.

Setting aside the inherent issue of its patronizing, infantilizing name, many are increasingly realizing that, rather than signifying a win for feminism, the idea of the girlboss only perpetuates the racist, classist, and, yes, sexist structures of late-stage capitalism. Now, it's just with a glittery, hot pink overlay to make it seem like something revolutionary and new. (It’s not.) The vast majority of those held up as the ultimate girlbosses throughout the 2000s and 2010s were overwhelmingly young, white, and cisgender, suggesting that there was only one way to be a high-achieving woman. Beyond that, girlboss toxicity is further entrenched in its celebration of an all-out sprint to the top of the corporate ladder—of “leaning in” to office policies that all but destroy the idea of work-life balance—which have proven to have major consequences on both physical and mental health.

Of course, the issue isn’t confined only to women: People of all genders, races, and ages are left overworked, exhausted, and unfulfilled by the demands of a society built around a form of capitalism that venerates the unsustainable ideal of relentless progress at all costs.

So, enter the rise of a new approach to work-life balance weighted distinctly more toward life than work and eschews hustle culture in favor of good mental and physical health habits. A decade after Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In took the world by storm, bestseller lists and round-ups of the best books of the year now contain much more nuanced takes on corporate culture. There's especially a focus on strategies for and stories of women in the workforce. Below, we're highlighting 12 must-read memoirs and nonfiction titles about ambition and in critique of hustle culture from women writers for anyone interested in breaking away from the girlboss facade once and for all.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.